Jamaican woman missing in the US; army officer husband under probe

A Jamaican-born woman from the parish of Portland has been reported missing in the United States and police authorities there are theorising that she may have been a victim of foul play.

Missing is 29-year-old Andreen Nicole McDonald.

She reportedly failed to show up at work or return to her residence, located near Canyo Golf and Wilderness Oak, on Friday, March 1, according to officials with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in San Antonio, Texas.

Information reaching Loop News is that McDonald had resided in Port Antonio before migrating to the United States.

She is a past student of Norwich Primary and Titchfield High school in Portland, Jamaica.

Media reports in the United States indicated that McDonald's husband, who is currently serving as a major in the US Air Force, is a person of interest in the case, and has been detained for questioning.

Investigators reportedly took key interest in McDonald's husband after deputies made contact with him about his wife's disappearance.

"He quickly asserted his rights to legal counsel and refused to speak to us," Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told US media in an update on Saturday.

Later, police authorities noticed McDonald's husband leaving the couple’s home on surveillance they had placed around the property.

He was later discovered to be in a gun shop, where Salazar said he purchased a handgun and ammunition.

However, he departed the store without the weapon.

He was later arrested outside his residence on Saturday night, due to considerations of a possible mental issue on his part.

Military investigators and the FBI are now involved in the case, due to the husband’s active status in the American military.

The investigators have so far uncovered blood evidence, and are continuing to search the couple's home. However, the probe is still being treated as a missing person's case.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's office has appealed for anyone with information on McDonald's whereabouts or anyone interested in sharing surveillance footage, to contact them.

McDonald is said to be five feet, 11 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes.

According to Salazar, investigators are also probing whether McDonald had voluntarily left the United States, despite leaving "behind personal items that someone would normally take with them when traveling".

McDonald, who has a six-year-old daughter and operated successful home-care businesses, was last seen on Thursday, Salazar said.

McDonald is the operator of Starlight Homes Assisted Living, which consists of two facilities providing personal care services for the elderly in the San Antonio region.

Information from the company's website suggested that after graduating from high school in Jamaica, McDonald went on to earn an associate degree in marketing by age 18.

"Marriage and a move to Florida followed before her (McDonald's) husband’s air force career brought them to San Antonio. She earned her business degree in finance from the University of Texas, San Antonio. But McDonald knew her degree wouldn’t automatically mean she’d get a job: For me to get a job, one has to be available. Someone has to create a job," a biography about McDonald, on her company's website, stated.

It added: "So she (Andreen McDonald) decided to do just that: create a job for herself while also creating jobs for others — and making a difference for still more people. She founded Starlight Homes at 22, just a month after she graduated from college."

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